Chapter 14
Like the Sun and Moon
The scarecrow teaches the cherry blossom to think for other, the fox how to make them think and the hawk how to stop all thought. After a confrontation with the dog, the fox retreats to his sunny place, before introducing the sunny place to the twilight.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Beneath the mid-day sun, three hunters silently stalked their prey.
"'Crrrrk-' this is Wild Fox, I'm in position, over" The voice was grainy, and muffled by static as it spoke out through the trees
"'Crrrrk-' this is Black Hawk, I've located the target, moving in to intercept, over"
"'Crrrrk-' Cherry Blossom here, I've cut off his escape route, over"
A pair of menacing yellow eyes glared at the trees around him, he could here his captures all around him, and it was only a matter of time until-
All of a sudden, an orange figure flew out from the undergrowth towards the target. Startled by the sudden appearance, the being turned and fled, only to find its path cut off by a looming red and pink figure. Trapped, the target immediately spun around and darted off between the two…right into the waiting arms of a third.
Holding the cat by the scruff of the neck, the last Uchiha glared into its beady little eyes with a murderous look.
"Sasuke-kun, you got him! You're so good with cats" Sakura elated, hearts in her eyes.
"Humph, The Uchiha have a family contract with Nin-cats, I know a thing or two about handling the things," He said, taking his attention away from the cat in his hands. Seeing an opening, the cat snarled and began attacking the broody boy savagely.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Wresting the brutal feline off his face, holding it away from him at arms length. The cat snarled and hissed at him, furious at having its escape attempt thwarted.
"Nononono, Sasuke you dumb bastard, you looked away, you do it like this" Naruto admonished, before walking up to the cat and glaring it in the eye. When the cat tried to swipe him he snarled back.
/Try to escape from me, or my pack…I'LL KILL YOU!/ It started as a low, rumbling growl, building up until it ended with a throat snapping bark. As the sound echoed through the woods, the cat stiffened before falling limp, its eyes rolling to the back of its head. Sakura let out a gasp.
"Naruto-baka, what did you do? You killed it! Argh, you've tarnished our perfect mission record, now what will we do?"
'Shannaro! Little Shit deserved to die anyway, all the crap its put us through!' Inner Sakura proclaimed, stirring up mental images of various modes of torture applicable to the wayward feline.
"Relax, he's not dead, he just passed out from fear, that's all." The blonde explained, offhandedly.
"Humph, shame. Where's Kakashi-sensei gone?" Sasuke said, trying not to reach into his kunai pouch.
"Well, knowing Kakashi-sensei, he should be here right about…. now!"
The sound of crickets chirping could be heard echoing through the small patch of woods. Twelve seconds later, their silver-haired sensei walked into the clearing.
"Yo"
"You're late!" The blonde exclaimed, while his two teammates looked on in puzzlement.
"Ah, gomen-ne, a runaway cart hit me on the way here, so I had to stop to rebuild it"
"Liar!" The accusation was met and countered by a whimsical smile.
"I you insist, I assume you caught the cat?"
"Yeah, say Kakashi-sensei? Are ninja allowed to commission missions?" Naruto asked, his eyes on the unconscious cat.
"If they can pay for it, anyone can request a mission. Of course, it requires the Hokage's approval before anyone can accept it."
"Coz I was thinking of taking out an assassination contract on a certain feline if it ever goes 'missing-neko' on us again" Naruto explained, a dark grin on his face.
"Ah, but to assassinate the cat of the Fire Daimyo's wife would be tantamount to treason, it would never get passed"
"Really? Crap"
"Well then, we should head back to the administration office, Shijimi-Dono is waiting"
XXXXXXXXX
"Operation: 'cat & mouse' successful, here's you're pet Okami-sama" Kakashi said, smiling as he returned the lost pet to it's…'plump' owner.
"Ow, my poor widdle snookums, did the big bad ninja man scare you? Owowowowow" The woman, Shijimi, gushed, squeezing the hapless cat against her bosom.
'Stupid cat deserves it'
'Humph, no wonder it ran away' as the woman turned and gave the payment to the cashier, the cat shot Naruto a pleading glance.
'Oh, what the hell'
/fake your death, and flee in the night/ The cat shot him a glance full of gratitude for the idea.
"Eh? Naruto do you have a cold? That's a nasty sounding cough you've got there," Sakura said, edging away in case he was infectious.
"Nah, I think the dumb cat gave me a fur-ball, 'cough cough'-ttebayo" Naruto grinned, 'coughing' into his hand,
"Indeed, will you're team be taking any more missions today, Kakashi-kun?" The aged Hokage asked.
"Nah, they got training now, we'll just take the pay for today and go" The one-eyed Nin stated, motioning towards the general direction of the training ground 7.
"Very well, here are you're receipts, cash them in over there like always" The Sandaime said, handing Kakashi a wad of paper dockets.
"Thank you Hokage-sama"
"Yeah, see yah Ojii-san"
Quickly cashing in their paychecks, the members of Team Seven made their way down from the administrative building. Sakura shot Naruto an odd look as he deposited his entire payment into his jacket pocket, jingling slightly as the coins brushed against one another.
"Hey, Naruto"
"Nan desu ka, Sakura-Chan?" He asked, patting the pocket absentmindedly.
"Why do you insist on being made in coins anyway? Isn't it conspicuous to walk around sounding like a rattle all day?"
"Because coins are shiny, and since when did I jingle?" He replied, notably not jingling as he walked.
"Eh? How can you not make a noise?"
"Well, I lost my wallet a couple years ago, and never got around to buying a new one, so I found a cool replacement-ttebayo" He said, hands behind his head.
"What replacement?" She asked, her curiosity piqued. The last Uchiha made what sounded like a groan and began walking faster, trying to get out of earshot.
"Well, Y'know how you can seal stuff in scrolls and that,"
"Wait, you know Fuuin Jutsu?" She demanded, trying to grasp the fact that the class idiot knew a relatively advanced skill like sealing.
"Not that much, I'm working on it though, I still can't seal anything larger than a Fuuma shuriken, although I think the medium I'm using helps a bit"
"Medium? What medium?"
"Well, I kept running out of paper, and ink, so I just painted the seals on my body, using my blood. I have them right inside my pocket, see?" He explained, turning out his pockets to reveal holes at the bottom. He channeled a bit of chakra to his sides, causing a pair of black crosses with swirling tips to appear on the exposed flesh, surrounded by smaller markings.
"I keep all my stuff in these things, tools, emergency rations, ink and paper, I think I got a Rubik's cube somewhere in there as well, stupid thing's rigged-ttebayo, I swear" He said, scowling at the thought of the accursed cube, if only it were round he would find it that much easier.
"Wow, that's pretty impressive" The pink-haired Kunoichi admitted, honestly impressed by the feat.
"Nah, most ninja can do basic sealing by the time they're Chuunin anyway, considering I've been working on it for a few years now my progress is pretty bad, d-rank sealing is the best I can manage, by now I'm supposed to be able to do at least b-rank-ttebayo" He admitted, causing the Kunoichi's opinion of the blonde to drop back to what is was before.
"Humph, I bet Sasuke-kun could master sealing in a month" She proclaimed, ignoring the muffled groan coming from the Uchiha in question, and the scowl on Naruto's face. After remembering her long-time crush, she quickly ran up to beside the dark-haired youth, ignoring his attempts at escape.
'Great, now she thinks I'm an even bigger idiot. Stupid modesty'
'Hmmm? Naruto can do basic sealing? And he claims to be capable of using blood as a medium, and his own body as the conduit? Not often seen in a genin, I might have to take a look at his work sometime. As long as he doesn't get any ideas about tampering with that seal' Kakashi let out an audible hum as he read from his beloved orange book, giggling every couple of seconds.
Naruto's scowl was quickly swapped for a grin as he caught sight of a familiar face.
"Hoi! Hinata-Chan!" He exclaimed, running up to his shy friend and waving to her as she came up the stairs.
"N-Naruto-kun?" She stammered, caught off-guard by the blonde's sudden appearance.
"Eh? Naruto? What about the idiot?" Kiba said, walking up behind the girl. He smirked as he laid eyes on fox-boy.
"Oh, hey Kitsune-baka, what's wrong with you? You look like you just went swimming in a compost heap," The dog-boy laughed. Naruto glanced down, realizing that he was still covered in dirt and leaves from crawling after the cat.
'Arrogant fool, rip his tongue off!' Ignoring the input of his Oni-Zenshin, Naruto matched Kiba's smirk with a grin of his own.
"Yeah, I was doing a little test, and it turns out you do smell worse than a pile of horse-shit. I'm hoping to publish my research in Konoha Science Weekly" As the two youths glared at each other, Hinata sweat-dropped at the rising tension in the air.
"So, Hinata, how have things been?" Naruto asked
"Ano, T-they're alright". She stammered, looking from the Naruto beside her to the Naruto staring down her canine teammate and his dog.
"Ehehe, Kage Bunshin. These guy's are awesome. Well, they are me anyway so of course they are" Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head absent-mindedly.
"I-I see…" She said, unsurely.
"Yeah, I can make hundreds of them if I need to, it's the greatest" He nodded, his mind filled with scenes of epic battles. As the information settled into Hinata's brain, she blushed furiously, her mind filled with slightly different scenes of equally epic-proportions.
"Ne, Hinata-Chan? Hello?"
"Wah! I-I mean, w-what?" She stammered, fighting to keep her blush, and her r-rated thoughts, down.
"Ne, I was just wondering if you where free this afternoon? I mean, if you weren't busy or anything if you wanted to just, hang out and stuff, Y'know" He asked, his hands trailing off to the sides as he elaborated his explanation.
'I-is he asking me out?'
"Naruto! There you are. You shouldn't abandon your team-mates like that," Kakashi reprimanded, walking in from around the corner. "Ah, Hinata-Chan wasn't it? I suppose you're here with you're team for missions then"
"H-Hai, ano…Kurenai-sensei is just picking them up for us, S-Shino-kun got called away by his father earlier so he's meeting us here. M-Me and Kiba-kun where looking for him when we m-met up with N-Naruto-kun" She explained, motioning towards the two blondes, one of which had the Inuzuka in a headlock.
"Hmm? Well then, lets not detain you. Come on Naruto, you're team is waiting for you"
"Yeah, yeah, geez, you make it sound like I left them to die-ttebayo"
"Well, what if they were attacked while you where away, and died because the two of them weren't strong enough to hold off their opponents"
"Okay, okay, I get it. 'Don't leave your team behind'-ttebayo." The blonde grumbled as he followed after his teacher. Just as he was about to descend the stairs he quickly called over his shoulder
"Ah, Hinata-Chan, about this afternoon?"
"A-ah…Hai! A-ano…Ichiraku at four?" She replied hesitantly, trying to remember her schedule.
"Great, See yah there, OI ME! Time to go-ttebayo!" He shouted at the clone, which was currently being held in a submission move by the dog-nin. An abrupt 'poof' later, the Inuzuka hit the ground with a thud.
"Ow, hey, where'd he go?"
"A-ano…" He started, trying to think of a way to explain it to the dog-boy, "N-Never mind, l-lets go find Shino-kun" She said, before darting off down the hallway, blushing at the thought of her 'date' with Naruto.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Naruto cringed as he stepped onto the training field, anticipating the shouting his arrival heralded.
"Naruto! Where were you?" His pink-haired teammate demanded. Some distance next to her stood the last Uchiha, and a little ways away; leaning on a tree was their smut-obsessed sensei.
"Aw, come on, I was only gone a couple of minutes. Look on the bright side, I gave you more time to ogle Sasuke-Teme"
'Shannaro! Time well spent to!'
"T-that's beside the point. What were you doing anyway?"
"Huh? Oh, I was just talking to Hinata-Chan"
"Hinata-san? Since when where you and her that close?" The pink-haired Kunoichi demanded, her hunger for gossip piqued.
"Eh? We met the other week, and had lunch, and we just kinda…hit it off-ttebayo"
"What would a sweet girl like that want to do with a freak like you?" Sakura demanded, jabbing an accusing finger at the blonde.
"You're so mean, Sakura-Chan. I'm not all that bad, if I was I'd post pictures of Sasuke-Teme naked all over Konoha"
"Ugh, you…wait, do you even have those pictures?" She asked, an odd gleam in her eye.
"Nah, Sasuke-Teme burnt them last semester. Took me all week to get him drunk too"
"Well, you shouldn't go blackmailing people like that anyway" She admonished, ignoring the inane ranting of 'Inner-Sakura'.
"Now that we're all here, we can begin today's training." The silver-haired Jounin explained.
"Alright! Training-ttebayo!"
"'Ahem', Now that you've all completed the tree-climbing exercise" He said, glancing at the slash-marked trees that denoted the weeks earlier efforts. "I can begin teaching you in earnest, now, since you're not all the same person, I'll be teaching each of you different things" He finished by forming a hand seal, one that was all to familiar to a certain orange-clad genin.
'That's-'
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" A moment later the Jounin was joined by two identical clones, each sporting the same little smile.
"What, you didn't think that you where the first person to learn that technique did you Naruto?" One of them said, earning an irritated 'humph' from the genin in question.
'Aaww, just how many people know that technique? Bah, I bet I could make more than him'
"Alright, each of you get one Kakashi, try not to break him" One of them said, before giggling. When no one else laughed he shrugged and began leading Sakura away. Another took Sasuke, and the third took Naruto.
XXXXXXXXXX
With Sakura
"Now then Sakura, from what I've seen of you, you have extremely good chakra control, but low stamina. We'll change that in a little while, but for now I have just the technique for you" Kakashi explained, putting his book away.
"Really? What is it?"
"It's a Gen Jutsu, remember back during the bell test?"
"You mean?"
"That's right, the technique I'm going to teach you is Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu. Like all Gen Jutsu, it'd easy enough to dispel, but this is one of the harder ones, where they usually don't realize until it's too late. It doesn't require that much chakra, but if you use more to reinforce it, it makes the illusion harder to dispel. The best part is you don't have to think about anything, it automatically worms its way in and bring their worst fear to the surface. I'd advise against using it I spars however, this kind of technique effects some worse than others."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
With Sasuke
"Now then Sasuke, While your proficiency in Taijutsu and Nin Jutsu needs not be mentioned, most of your techniques benefit from open spaces, with little scenery. Unfortunately, you can't always get what you want, and there may be times when you're fire is either useless or too hazardous to use. Which is why I've got you this little something" The one-eyed Nin charged chakra to his hand, and then held his hand next to a nearby tree. As soon as the limb was within range there was a loud 'zap', and a small, smoky patch of wood on the tree.
"It's a little something taught in ANBU, it's called Tanraku no Jutsu. A decent sized spark, not enough to kill someone, but enough to fry the nerves in whatever you touch. If you get the spinal cord you can paralyze them for life, if you get the brain…they have a slim chance of survival." Kakashi said frankly, scratching the side of his head as he did so.
"I see, show me"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
With Naruto
"So, you like Kage Bunshin, eh?"
"Yup"
"I also hear you like shuriken…. any particular reason?"
"They spin" Naruto shrugged. "I like things that spin, twist, twirl, swirl, rotate or otherwise spiral. It's a hobby" He shrugged again, wondering what the point is.
"Well then, I'm sure you'll just love this" The jounin-sensei smiled, before pulling out a single shuriken.
"Are you gonna use that? Coz if not I'll have it," The Uzumaki offered. Kakashi ignored him and turned around.
"Watch this" He launched the shuriken towards a nearby tree, and immediately burst into a small flurry of hand seals.
"Kage Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!" The one shuriken became two, four, eight, sixteen, multiplying until over thirty-two shuriken were flying through the air.
"That is-" The blonde was cut off as the shuriken hit the tree, a steady 'ratatatatat' echoed for about two seconds before the last shuriken stuck.
"-So freaking AWESOME! Dattebayo!!!" There was a gleam in the boy's eyes that radiated exited glee as he pranced about.
'What have I created?'
"The five seals are Tora-Ne-Tori-I-Tora. Although once you get the hang of it you can just use the cross-seal like regular Kage Bunshin.
"Alright, lets go!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Some Time Later
"Well team, I think you did well today." Kakashi smiled. Before him stood Team Seven in all its glory. Sakura was ghostly pale, and had developed a minor eye-tick. Sasuke had an angry scowl, burnt fingers, and a right hand that refused to stop twitching, and Naruto was covered in cuts and scraped from when all his shuriken had spontaneously changed direction and launched themselves at him, forcing him to dive behind a nearby tree for cover.
"Keep practicing those Jutsu and you should have them down in no time, just be careful what you practice them on ok? I don't want to explain why my students accidentally killed a civilian now do I?"
'Ugh, I'll kill you in a minute, bastard'
'Owww…my head hurts so much…'
"Hai, sensei" They all chorused unenthusiastically, before trudging off in their own separate directions.
'My, this is more fun than I thought it would be' Kakashi chuckled before pulling out a familiar orange book and heading off his own way.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
While Naruto ran, he allowed a small slip of Youki to slip out, quickly healing his minor wounds. Pausing just near the ramen stand, he quickly brushed all the dirt and leaves off from his jump suit, before calmly walking up to the stand.
'It wouldn't do to make a bad impression' he reasoned, grinning as he walked beneath the banner.
"N-Naruto-kun" Hinata stammered, yet again startled by the blonde's sudden appearance.
"Ah, sorry I'm late, I got attacked by a savage gust of wind" He said, referring to the shuriken that mysteriously attacked him. An awkward silence ensued as what he said reached his ears
'By Inari-sama, I sound worse than Kakashi-sensei! Nooo! I've been infected by his 'road of life''
"You know what? Forget what I just said, and blame Kakashi-sensei for everything. He said blankly, before sitting down on a stool.
"So, Shall we eat?"
"Mmm, Ano…I'll have a b-bowl of p-pork ramen please" Hinata requested softly.
"Yeah, I could go for some meat. Hey, Oji-san, make that two"
"Two pork ramen for the happy couple, got it" Teuchi said, grinning at the blush he elicited from the young girl. He let out a groan of pain as he felt an elbow jab uncomfortable into his side.
"Tou-san, what did I say about making the customers feel comfortable? Now shut up and make their ramen" Ayame scolded.
"Yes sir" The middle-aged man said, shuffling off to the stoves to nurse his pride. As their meals were being prepared, Naruto took the initiative to start up a conversation.
"So, how's you're team going so far?" He asked, genuine curiosity on his voice.
'Come on, gimme some dirt on dog-breath'
"A-Ano…w-we're making p-progress, K-Kurenai-sensei says we have g-good team dynamics" She admitted, tapping her fingers together nervously.
"Really? Cool, the closest thing to team dynamics we've got is when one of us gives orders and the others listen, which happens far and between."
"O-oh?" She said, feeling guilty as though she'd been gloating over how much better her team was than his.
"Yeah, it'd help if Sakura-Chan would stop idolizing the Uchiha and start seeing the real Sasuke-Teme"
"W-w-what do you mean?" She asked, unused to hearing such harsh sounding words from her crush.
"It's not her fault I suppose, it's the whole damn village, now his clans gone they seem to see him as some 'grand savior' that's going to lead them to power and glory. It's almost as if they think the entire village only existed because of the Uchiha clan. They let it get to their heads too, before the incident you'd see Uchiha Police corp. walking 'round like they owned the place. They where probably taught from day one that 'Uchiha are the best', 'long live the Uchiha' and 'Uchiha for Hokage', ugh, that'd be the day." He huffed, trying to force away the mental image of Sasuke's face on the Hokage monument. "Ah, Ramen's here" He exclaimed, offering up his little prayer before diving into the noodle-broth, while Hinata ate much more conservatively.
"T-The Hyuuga are the same" She said, hesitant at slandering her own clan.
"Really?"
"W-We are always told that 'T-the Hyuuga are the f-foundation of Konoha', h-how the village w-would s-still be a 'Rabble of tents b-by a river' were it not for the H-Hyuuga." She frowned.
"E-every day, t-they expect the H-Hyuuga to be f-flawless, and I-if you do make a m-mistake t-they condemn you on the s-spot"
"Now that's just harsh, no wonder they're all such uptight bastards…'cept you of course"
"T-They act like they're doing the village a f-favor, just by l-living here!" She exclaimed, starting to raise her voice.
"It's not like they could just up and leave, no village would take them, since that would be a display of disloyalty. They'd be hunted by ANBU for betrayal, and there's not enough jobs out there for a whole clan of missing Nin to get by. They're only option would be to settle down into civilian life somewhere"
"A-Also, there w-would be p-people trying to s-steal the secrets of the B-Byakugan"
"That's you're eye thingy right? I didn't know you could do that"
"H-Hai, it happens now and again…I-it…almost h-happened to m-me once" She admitted, burying her head in her ramen.
"What happened?" He asked, all excitement gone from his voice, replaced by concern and apprehension.
"I-It was n-nine years ago, K-Kumo sent an a-ambassador to sign a p-peace treaty with K-Konoha, b-but, in the night he s-snuck in and t-tried to k-kidnap m-me"
"I suppose since you're here, today that he failed?"
"H-Hai, O-Otou-sama s-stopped and k-killed him"
"Man…Kumo couldn't have been too happy"
"I-Iie, t-they d-denied the w-whole thing and demanded Otou-Sama's h-head."
"So what did they do?"
"H-Hizashi-Oji-sama, O-Otou-Sama's t-twin brother w-was sent in his s-stead."
"Wait, did this Hizashi guy even want to?"
"H-Hai, h-he said that it was 't-the last decision of a c-caged bird'. H-He was of the b-branch family, s-see? T-they l-live their w-whole lives in s-servitude to the m-main family. I-it sickens me, t-they're p-practically s-slaves"
"That's…terrible, I can't believe they haven't turned against the clan yet." He exclaimed, eyes wide in shock.
"T-they can't, e-even if they w-wanted to. T-they have a c-curse seal p-placed on them, a-all a m-main family member need to do is form a h-hand seal to cause them g-great pain, e-even death if they h-hold it long enough"
"To go to such extremes, to their own family?" Naruto demanded, shell-shocked. Hinata shook her head sadly.
"Iie, you misunderstand. It's not a family, n-not anymore, I-it's a clan"
'Cursed from birth to be forever in servitude, never having a say in ones own life…' His mind was filled with images of himself, bound in chains and locked in a dungeon, his seal exposed for the whole world to see.
"A-Ah, I-its getting late" She said, glancing at the rapidly dimming sky.
"Uh, you're right. We got maybe…half an hour of daylight left. He said, before quickly grinning.
"Ne, Hinata-Chan, I got just the perfect thing to show you" Quickly dropping some money beside his empty ramen bowl, he grabbed the demure girl by the wrist and began running down the street.
"N-Naruto-kun, w-where are we going?" She stammered to ask, narrowly avoiding the many pedestrians in their path.
"Don't worry, we won't be too long. Hey Hinata-Chan? Can you do the tree-climbing exercise yet?" He asked, rounding a corner.
"H-Hai, demo…I used up m-most of m-my chakra during t-training today" She said, drooping her head in shame.
"Then I'll just have to carry you" Bringing her in front of him, he swept her of her feet and picked her up bridal style.
"Going up!" Charging his feet with chakra, he leapt from the ground onto a nearby building, before using it as a springboard to go even higher.
"N-Naruto-kun!" She jerked suddenly, before feeling a pull backwards on her as they ran. After a moment she realized that he was running straight up a cliff face, that he could do that while carrying her was no mean feat, she realized. Especially since they where both wearing weighted jackets,
"Hang on, almost there!" He shouted, as they drove on higher, higher, until
"Alright, we're here!" He stopped and placed the dazed girl gently on the ground next to him as he sat down.
"W-where are we?" She asked, her head spinning from the change in altitude.
"Hokage Mountain, atop the Yondaime's head" He explained, rapping his knuckles on the rock beneath him to demonstrate.
"A-ano…why did you take me here?" She asked, looking at the rock in confusion.
"Well, all that talk about you're clan seemed to be making you upset, and I always come here when I'm upset. Also, look" He said, pointing towards the horizon. She turned her head to look and gasped.
"I-its beautiful" She stammered, overcome by the sight before her. The setting sun, dipping over the horizon, cast a red glow over the entire village, flames almost seemed to lick the buildings as shadows danced across the cityscape.
"The village…it almost looks alive" Her voice was subdued and awestruck as she looked out upon the burning visage.
"When the Konoha dance, the will of fire burns," Naruto said, ominously.
"Nani?"
"It's something Ojii-san said, I'm always reminded of it when I see this" He explained, an odd look in his eye.
'It looks just like that night, the way he remembers it'
'Me and Naruto-kun…watching the sunset…together…alone…I wish this could go on forever' Blushing furiously, she reached over and grasped her crushes hand with her own. When he made no comment she felt her bravery muster.
'This is it, just the two of us…now' Trembling, nervously, she slowly leaned towards the blonde boy next to her, closer…closer…
"Naruto-kun" She murmured, her heart racing with anticipation.
"Hinata-Chan!" He exclaimed, turning to face her suddenly. The abrupt movement caught her off guard, and she fell backwards, the boy's quick reflexes being the only thing that stopped her from slamming into the rock.
"N-Naruto-kun?" She stammered, the boy's face was inches away from her, the sun was not even a flicker on the horizon, and a crescent moon hung ominously in its stead. The blonde's eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, and when he grinned she could have sworn she saw an impressively sized fang.
"Oh Hinata…" He sang, his voice quiet as a whisper, yet full of mirth.
"N-Nan desu ka?" She asked, her lips trembling.
"Lets dance" His voice sounded so smooth, so sweet, how could she say no?
"H-Hai" Immediately, he lifted her up and held her next to him.
"Beneath the moonlight, we sing and dance, all in praise of our mother Tsukuyomi, come! From now till eternity!" He sang, before leaping from the rock onto a nearby rooftop.
"Naruto-kun!"
"Follow, follow and dance with me," He stepped from toe-to toe, dancing from foot –to-foot in invitation. Feeling her heart flutter, the Hyuuga heiress swallowed before leaping after him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They leapt from rooftop to rooftop; one would lead, the other follow, and then switch places, with the other leading and the first following. It was both a game, and a dance, all rolled into one. Their joyous cries echoed beneath the silver moon. Their previous lives lay forgotten and discarded, there was no then, there was no when, there was no if or how or but, just here and now, beneath the smiling night. No words were exchanged; they spoke with their folly. Two lunatics, beneath the goddess, laughed, and cried, and sang, and wept, and when the music stopped, they stared into each other's souls. Within, they found both eternity and madness, reflected a thousand times over, and as the curtain starts to fall, a giddy thief steals a kiss, before vanishing into the night, promises and farewell trailing behind.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Neko-cat
Okami-here it means 'mistress' or 'madam', I thought would be appropriate to refer to the Daimyo's wife
Fuuin Jutsu-sealing arts
Otou-sama- Honored father
Byakugan-white eyes
Kumo-abbreviation of Kumogakure no Sato, or Village Hidden in Clouds
Tora-tiger
Ne-Rat
Tori-Bird
I-Boar
Youki- 'You' for calamity, 'Ki' for spiritual energy, 'Youki' basically means 'evil', or 'destructive energy'. A/N: In case you didn't know, 'Shijimi' is the Daimyo's wife's name. The 'Missing neko' thing was a lame pun on 'Missing-Nin' in case you didn't pick that up.
And no, they haven't hooked up together already, it was the middle of the night, and Naruto was drunk off moonshine, so his mind was in several places at once when it happened.
On today's "Crap I think I know…kinda"-suffixes
In Japan, suffixes are used to denote both familiarity, and respect toward the person being named, usually in contrasting amounts. Also it is less familiar to refer to someone by their last name than their first. If the prefix O- is added, the it increases the person's status; O- could be translated as either 'great' or 'honored'.
-Chan is one of the more familiar suffixes, and has feminine and/or 'cute' connotations. Is equivalent to an abbreviation or nickname in English, I.E calling someone 'Lizzy' instead of 'Elizabeth'. It would be appropriate to call a young girl you were friends with –Chan, it would, however, be disrespectful to call someone who was your senior –Chan. To call a male –Chan could be endearing, or insulting, depending on the speaker's relationship with the person. It would not be too out of place to call your baby brother –Chan, but it would be a great insult to call you're middle aged boss that. It's also a good way to embarrass your brother in front of his friends.
-Kun is also a familiar suffix, equal, if not slightly less so, than –Chan. Is equivalent to an abbreviation or nickname in English, I.E calling someone 'Johnny' instead of 'Johnson'; The implementation is similar to –Chan, although –kun has masculine connotations, although it would not be entirely inappropriate to refer to a female as –kun, if that person exhibited relatively masculine behavior, it is also used for people under you in terms of rank, a student, regardless of gender would usually have -kun at the end of their name, same as with if your boss were addressing you.
-San is fairly neutral in terms of familiarity, and could be considered the default suffix. It is similar to calling someone Mr., Mrs., sir or madam in English It is fairly respectful, and usually denotes seeing someone as being equal in status to the speaker.
-Sama is relatively low familiarity, but very high in terms of respect. Is about on par with calling someone 'lord-' in English. Implies the person is of higher status than the speaker,
-Dono is similar to –Sama, however, its usually associated with the head of a prominent family or organization. No English equivalent.
-Sensei literally means teacher, similar to how English-speaking students call their teachers 'Mrs. Hoover' etc.
-Baka literally means idiot, not technically a suffix, is equivalent to calling someone 'stupid-' in English
-Teme, I'm not sure what this means exactly, but it's the equivalent to bastard/bitch in English. Not technically a suffix
Finally, to refer to someone using no suffixes whatsoever denotes either great familiarity (i.e. that shared between spouses) or a great insult, as it denotes no respect whatsoever to the person.